


Black Mesa’s First Rocket Launch

by MaggotKid



Category: Half-Life
Genre: Half-Life VR But the AI is Self-Aware, How Do I Tag, M/M, boomer soft moments...
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:08:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24654358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaggotKid/pseuds/MaggotKid
Summary: Coomer meets a new friend in the depths of Black Mesa and takes him to see Black Mesa’s first ever rocket launch.(Based on This post from @GordonRadioTV !https://toonbly.tumblr.com/post/620506155241865216/gordonradiotv-coomer-i-wouldnt-quite-say )
Relationships: Bubby/Dr. Coomer (Half-Life)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 155





	Black Mesa’s First Rocket Launch

Harold Coomer was one of Black Mesa’s best scientists! Keyword being was. He seemed to be a constant delight to have in the workplace, acting as a faux father figure to any employee who needed it.  
He was always complacent with his position and never seemed to disagree with whatever Black Mesa had up their sleeves. 

That was until he stumbled upon the biological research department one day during work. Some younger employee in the locker room mentioned leaving his lunch in some sector of the facility, and Coomer was more than happy to find it for him! Yet while walking back to said employee he heard something coming from the halls. The sounds of something scratching against glass and several biologists bickering over one another. Coomer decided to get a closer look.

“Can’t we just sedate it for the time being?? It clearly doesn’t enjoy being in containment!”

“It doesn’t matter what it enjoys.. if we’re gonna have a successful specimen then it needs to stay in the tube. It needs time to-“

Coomer had drowned out the scientists arguing amongst each other and shifted his eyes to the Tube they were talking about. He expected to see some kind of alien cooped up in there but instead he saw.. a man.

The man in the tube wasn’t completely normal.. his fingers seemed a tad sharper than average, his eyes were very brightly colored (from what he could tell from the green hue of the tube) and his teeth were like little daggers lining his mouth. Coomer for some reason found it adorable..

The “specimen” was clearly agitated and was scratching at the walls of the tube, like he was trying to escape it. Coomer could even hear very faint muffled shouting from within the tube. He couldn’t quite make out what was being said but it sounded heated and filled with a sense of bitterness.

Eventually, the scientists agreed on Something (Coomer wasn’t paying attention) and left to exit the room. Harold quickly assumed a position that made it look like he was just innocently strolling by and didn’t see a thing that had happened in the lab, but once they were out of sight he quickly ran into the biological research lab.

As soon as the doctor had entered the room, the “specimen” glared at him and mumbled something under its breath. The lab wasn’t filled with squabbling scientists this time around so Coomer could actually tell what it was trying to say.

“What do you want this time?” 

“No no!” Coomer was quick to reply. “I’m not working with them! I just wanted to.. see you.”

“Ah.” The man in the tube groaned, sounding just as bitter as before. “Well go ahead. Take a look at ‘The Perfect Specimen’. Want to take notes or something? Take a picture, it’ll last longer..”

“I’m not here for any notes.. you just seemed.. upset! So I wanted to see if I could make you any less upset!”

“..You’re joking.”

“Why would I joke about that?”

The specimen seemed.. legitimately confused. During his time here at Black Mesa, he’d learned that a scientist puts research before emotion. It didn’t matter how much he loathed every test they’d do or how much this cramped little tube made him want to scream, it was all for research. Yet here one of them was, seeming genuinely concerned about his wellbeing.

“Bubby..”

“Excuse me..???”

“Oh! Sorry I was just… looking near the bottom of the tube. Specimen Eight V B Eight Y.. I thought it looked like “Bubby”!”

“..Well I. Certainly like it better than ‘specimen’..”

‘Bubby’ gave a soft smile. It was a small gesture but having a Name made him feel a bit.. better. Made him feel more like a real person instead of just a scientific test dummy with a consciousness.

Just then, footsteps could be heard coming back down the hall. Coomer’s eyes went wide and he hurried to find a way out the room where he wouldn’t be noticed.

“I’ll be back!” He whispered before heading out of the room.

Bubby hoped he’d be..

And he was! Whenever he could, Coomer would find a reason to take a “break” from his usual work and rush over to the Hopefully Empty research department. They’d talk for as long as they could about whatever they could, but a common conversation topic was Space.

Bubby had only seen “space” on tacky posters hung up around the department but it interested him nonetheless. Unlike his tube, it was vast and open. It was endless with a new shining star or new undiscovered planet at every turn. He’d always tell Coomer he wanted to go there someday. That he wanted to explore the vastness of space and all it had to offer. 

“That sounds wonderful!” Coomers sudden excited shout brought him out of his little space fantasy.

“It does… but…I don’t see it happening any time soon..”

“Well.. If Black Mesa can make a man. I’m sure they can send a few into space!”

Coomer placed his hand on the glass of the tube.

“And I’ll make sure that you’re one of the first to go!”

Bubby placed his hand over Coomers.

“...That sounds wonderful.”

Coomer wandered down the dark halls of the facility with ease. Everyone was distracted at the moment (and for good reason) so he didn’t really need to hide this time around. 

“BUBBY!” He practically screamed out into the room

“SHHHHH What are you doing?! You’re gonna get c-“

“No time to explain! How’s this thing open?”  
Coomer dragged over a swivel chair and stood on it to get a better look at the tube. He was looking all over the top of it to find any openings or loose screws.  
“I’ll punch open any latches I have to!”

Bubby sighed and grumbled, voice dripping with sarcasm.  
“Maybe try the button over there that says ‘Open Tube’ in big blue letters. Don’t have a CLUE what that could do.”

Coomer looked to where he pointed. There it was. A massive button reading ‘Open Tube’. It’s honestly astounding that he didn’t notice it before. 

The top of the tube opened up and Coomer got back on the chair and held his arm out to Bubby.  
“Just grab on and I’ll pull you out!”

“What are you doing?! We’re going to get caught and I’ll get punished or tested on! Are you cra-“

“No need to worry about that! Black Mesa has more important things to focus on than you at the moment! No offense.”

Bubby sighed and grabbed onto Coomer, making his way out of the tube. As soon as Bubby was out, Coomer positioned him and held him as if he was cradling a child.

“H-HEY! You don’t have to hold me!”  
“Oh! Well I assumed you couldn’t really walk seeing as you… spend all your time suspended in liquid.”

Coomer placed Bubby down on the ground as Bubby tried walking off with an over-confident grin..only to stumble almost instantly.

“...Okay you may have been right… but I don’t need to be carried!”

“You could hold my hand if you’d like!”

“....I would very much like to..” A faint blue hue spread across Bubby’s cheeks.. Oh my goodness he was blushing, Coomer thought to himself.

Coomer ran over to the nearest observation deck with Bubby behind him, still incredibly confused as to what was going on.  
“Ta-da!” Coomer exclaimed and gestured towards the massive window in front of them with little jazz hands.

“...It’s a rocket..” Bubby mumbled in awe.

“My coworkers had been talking about this launch for the past few days now, and with all your talk about space, I just knew I had to bring you to see it!”

“..It’s a rocket…” Bubby mumbled once again.

Coomer chuckled at just how starstruck Bubby seemed to be. His eyes were fixated on the rocket, observing every part of it, envisioning himself inside that rocket one day..

And then it blasted off.. Coomer was sure he heard Bubby audibly gasp. The rocket went higher and higher, further into the boundless depths of space.. he wondered what it must have felt like to be inside that rocket.. seeing the stars up close.. witnessing meteors whisk by so close you could almost touch them..

Coomer watched, equally as starstruck. Not with the rocket… but with Bubby himself. He watched Bubby's leg bounce and his hands shake in pure excitement. He watched as those sharp teeth he usually saw scowling formed a genuine smile, something he rarely saw of Bubby when he was in the tube. Yet most of all he looked at his eyes. He’d never seen a man’s eyes light up so brightly before that night..His eyes were as bright as the stars he was watching.. and Coomer adored every minute of it. 

Because when you see the universe in a man’s eyes, it’s hard not to fall in love with him..


End file.
